IRS warns taxpayers about popular tax scams

The IRS released the 2013 Dirty Dozen tax scam, which includes identity theft, phishing and hiding income offshore.

Yesterday the IRS released its list of the 2013 Dirty Dozen Tax Scams to help educate customers about this year’s most common tax scams. Although these scams are active year-round, tax season seems to bring about a surge in victims.

"This tax season, the IRS has stepped up its efforts to protect taxpayers from a wide range of schemes, including moving aggressively to combat identity theft and refund fraud," said IRS Acting Commissioner Steven T. Miller. "The Dirty Dozen list shows that scams come in many forms during filing season. Don't let a scam artist steal from you or talk you into doing something you will regret later." Source: IRS

2013 Dirty Dozen Tax Scams

Identity theft

Phishing

Return preparer fraud

Hiding income offshore

"Free Money" from the IRS and tax scams involving Social Security

Impersonation of charitable organizations

False/inflated income and expenses

False form 1099 refund claims

Frivolous arguments

Falsely claiming zero wages

Disguised corporate ownership

Misuse of trusts

Identity theft is rampant and peaks during tax season but if you follow these five steps to protect your identity this tax season you will minimize your risk. Phishing is just one way that unscrupulous individuals can steal your identity. But what is phishing?

According to the IRS, “Phishing is a scam typically carried out with the help of unsolicited email or a fake website that poses as a legitimate site to lure in potential victims and prompt them to provide valuable personal and financial information. Armed with this information, a criminal can commit identity theft or financial theft.”

The IRS warns taxpayers that they will never initiate contact by email to request personal or financial information and that the official IRS website is IRS.gov, not IRS.com, IRS.net or any other variation.